[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 42 (Friday, March 2, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Page 12836]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-5133]



[[Page 12836]]

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-9642-1; EPA-HQ-ORD-2011-0739]


Draft Toxicological Review of Biphenyl: In Support of Summary 
Information on the Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS); Peer 
Review Meeting

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of peer review meeting.

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SUMMARY: EPA is announcing that Versar, Inc., an EPA contractor for 
external scientific peer review, will convene an independent panel of 
experts and organize and conduct an external peer review meeting to 
review the draft human health assessment titled, ``Toxicological Review 
of Biphenyl: In Support of Summary Information on the Integrated Risk 
Information System (IRIS)'' (EPA/635/R-11/005A). The draft assessment 
was prepared by the National Center for Environmental Assessment (NCEA) 
within the EPA Office of Research and Development.
    EPA is releasing this draft assessment for the purposes of public 
comment and peer review. This draft assessment is not final as 
described in EPA's information quality guidelines and it does not 
represent and should not be construed to represent Agency policy or 
views.
    Versar invites the public to register to attend this meeting as 
observers. In addition, Versar invites the public to give brief oral 
comments and/or provide written comments at the meeting regarding the 
draft assessment under review. Space is limited, and reservations will 
be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis. In preparing a final 
report, EPA will consider Versar's report of the comments and 
recommendations from the external peer review meeting and any written 
public comments that EPA received in accordance with the announcements 
of the public comment period for the biphenyl assessment in a Federal 
Register Notice published September 30, 2011, (76FR60827).

DATES: The peer review panel meeting on the draft assessment for 
Biphenyl will be held on Tuesday, April 3, 2012, beginning at 9 a.m. 
and end at 5 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time.

ADDRESSES: The draft ``Toxicological Review of Biphenyl: In Support of 
Summary Information on the Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS)'' 
is available primarily via the Internet on the NCEA home page under the 
Recent Additions and Publications menus at http://www.epa.gov/ncea. A 
limited number of paper copies are available from the Information 
Management Team (Address: Information Management Team, National Center 
for Environmental Assessment [Mail Code: 8601P], U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20460; 
telephone: 703-347-8561; facsimile: 703-347-8691). If you request a 
paper copy, please provide your name, mailing address, and the draft 
assessment title.
    The peer review meeting on the draft Biphenyl assessment will be 
held at the Hyatt Regency Crystal City, 2799 Jefferson Davis Highway, 
Arlington, Virginia 22202. To attend the meeting, register no later 
than Tuesday, March 27, 2012, by calling Versar: 703-642-6727, calling 
toll free: 1-800-2-VERSAR, ext. 6727, sending a facsimile to: 703-642-
6809, or sending an email to: [email protected]. Space is limited, and 
reservations will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis. 
There will be a limited time at the peer review meeting for comments 
from the public. Please inform Versar if you wish to make comments 
during the meeting.
    Information on Services for Individuals with Disabilities: EPA 
welcomes public attendance at the ``Biphenyl Peer Review Meeting'' and 
will make every effort to accommodate persons with disabilities. For 
information on access or services for individuals with disabilities, 
contact: Betzy Colon, by phone: 703-642-6727, or email: 
[email protected].
    Additional Information: For information on registration, access, or 
services for individuals with disabilities, or logistics for the 
external peer review meeting, please contact Versar by calling: 703-
642-6727, or calling Toll free: 1-800-2-VERSAR, or sending an email to: 
[email protected].
    For information on the draft IRIS assessment, please contact Zheng 
(Jenny) Li, National Center for Environmental Assessment (Mail Code: 
8601P), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue 
NW., Washington, DC 20460; telephone: 703-347-8577; send a facsimile 
to: 703-347-8689, or email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: EPA's IRIS is a human health assessment 
program that evaluates quantitative and qualitative risk information on 
effects that may result from exposure to chemical substances found in 
the environment. Through the IRIS Program, EPA provides the highest 
quality science-based human health assessments to support the Agency's 
regulatory activities. The IRIS database contains information for more 
than 550 chemical substances that can be used to support the first two 
steps (hazard identification and dose-response evaluation) of the risk 
assessment process. When supported by available data, IRIS provides 
oral reference doses (RfDs) and inhalation reference concentrations 
(RfCs) for chronic noncancer health effects and cancer assessments. 
Combined with specific exposure information, government and private 
entities use IRIS to help characterize public health risks of chemical 
substances in a site-specific situation and thereby support risk 
management decisions designed to protect public health.

    Dated: February 23, 2012.
Darrell A. Winner,
Acting Director, National Center for Environmental Assessment.
[FR Doc. 2012-5133 Filed 3-1-12; 8:45 am]
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